Speaking in Quakertown before about 30 members of the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce, Greenwood said the Casey plan makes it too difficult for homeowners as well as refuse collectors to participate in a recycling program.

"I'd like to see recycling. It's a much more effective way of dealing with waste than trying to landfill it," said the freshman senator. .

Nevertheless, Greenwood complained that the Casey program was put together without sufficient planning.

For example, the senator said homeowners are supposed to set aside glass and metal products from their other trash and then place the items at the curb for separate collections. However, he said, there is no way for the hauler to tell whether he is picking up a bag containing only glass.

Also, Greenwood said the initial recycling plan requires the homeowner to withhold colored glass from such collections. Again, Greenwood said, the hauler will not be able to tell whether the bag he is picking up at the curb contains colored glass.

"The governor only wants to pick up clear glass," Greenwood said. "I'd like to see us move toward recycling, but it has to make sense."

Under the governor's plan, which was announced last week, communities with populations of more than 10,000 would have to initiate a recycling program within two years. Municipalities with populations between 5,000 and 10,000 would have three years to start up a recycling program.

Other speakers before the chamber included state Rep. Paul I. Clymer, R- 145th District, and U.S. Rep. Peter H. Kostmayer, D-8th District.

Kostmayer said there is a plan in Congress to raise the income tax next year for individuals who earn more than $100,000 a year or couples earning more than $150,000 a year. He told the chamber members that Congress does not intend to raise the income tax for middle-income wage earners.

"There's a lot of reluctance to interfere with the middle-income taxpayers. Last year we took away a lot of the deductions and lowered the rates. Now we can't take away the deductions and raise the rates," he said.

Clymer told the chamber that he has started a lobbying campaign to win funding for construction of the Route 313 bypass around Quakertown. He said the state Department of Transportation recognizes the need for the highway but will not promise to fund it.

"In the meetings I've attended, the secretary of transportation has recognized this has to be built," Clymer said. "The funding is the problem. Where are the dollars going to come from?"

He said construction of the bypass is likely to cost more than $30 million.

"In a growing area like Upper Bucks, it should be a priority," he said.